Christmas tree assembly



Oc 19, 1965 M. s. GRUNDER CHRISTMAS TREE ASSEMBLY Filed Feb. 25, 1963 Maynard $.Grunder INVENTOR.

United States Patent CHRISTMAS TREE ASSEMBLY Maynard S. Grunder, Rte. 4, Box 138, Puyallup, Wash. Filed Feb. 25, 1963, Ser. No. 260,658 1 Claim. '(Cl. 161-26) This invention relates to a Christmas tree assembly comprising in combination a detached branch of a coniferous tree and a supporting branch-straightening stand therefor.

This application is a continuation-in-part of the application of Maynard S. Grunder, Serial No. 718,323, filed February 28, 1958, now abandonded, for Tree Branch Stand.

It is the general object of the present invention to provide a Christmas tree assembly which includes a severed branch of an evergreen tree and a stand supporting the branch in a vertical position so that it may be used as a miniature Christmas tree or as a component of a decorative arrangement.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a Christmas tree assembly which makes possible the erection of miniature Christmas trees in trailers, apartment houses, ofiices and like places where the available space is limited.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a Christmas tree assembly which makes possible the utilization of Waste forest products such as tree branches and tops and therefore serves a valuable conservation purpose.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a Christmas tree assembly which may be shipped, stored, and sold in disassembled condition, after which it may be re-assembled rapidly, easily and without time consuming preliminary preparations.

The manner in which the foregoing and other objects of this invention are accomplished will be apparent from the accompanying specification and claim considered together with the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a view in front elevation of the herein described Christmas tree assembly in assembled condition;

FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

Broadly stated, the Christmas tree assembly of the present invention comprises a detached branch of a coniferous tree in combination with a supporting stand which includes a base, upwardly extending elongated standard means attached to the base, and, at vertically spaced intervals, fastening means for engaging both the branch and the standard means to secure the branch against the standard means at such intervals, thereby straightening the branch from its natural curvature and maintaining it in erect position. A compact, three-dimensional, artistic product thus is formed which serves ideally as a miniature Christmas tree for use in locations having a restricted space.

Considering the foregoing in greater detail and with particular reference to the drawings:

The stand which mounts the severed tree branch includes a base plate adatped to lie in a horizontal plane and provided with a transverse perforation. Leg means preferably arranged in a tripod arrangement extend downwardly and outwardly from the base.

Two of the legs 12, 14- comprise a pair which are welded or otherwise afiixed rigidly to the base. The third leg 16 penetrates the perforation through the base, being retained by cotter key 18, so that it is swingable in a horizontal plane between the full and dotted line positions of FIG. 2. In the alternative it is removable altogether.

This increases the versatility of the stand in that when the tree assembly is to be placed flat against a wall, leg 16 then may be moved over to the dotted line position of FIG. 2 where it is out of the Way so that the assembly can be leaned against the wall. On the other hand, if it is desired to render the assembly self-supporting so that it can be used independently away from a wall or other supporting surface, leg 16 may be swung to the full line position of FIG. 2 where it serves as the third leg of a tripod.

Standard means extend upwardly from the base for supporting the tree branch. Such means comprise a pair of vertically spaced standards 20, 22 which are formed integrally with legs 12, 14, respectively. They are of sufficient height to support a branch of the selected length.

The standard members are completely independent of and spaced apart from each other so that in the event there are some branches extending outwardly from the stem of the main branch in a direction at right angles to the plane thereof, they may be inserted in the space between the two standards without deforming or trimming any part of the branch.

The lateral spacing between the standards is substantially equal to the diameter of the branch. This is important since it enables bracing th branch stem against the standards in the manner shown particularly in FIG. 3. As is well known, the branches are stiffiy resilient and an appreciable retaining force is necessary to maintain them in a straight position. This desired result would not be possible if the standards were to be separated by a space materially greater than the diameter of the branch to be mounted.

Also, the standards converge or can be bent to converge inwardly in an upward direction, in order to accommodate the tapered configuration of the branch stem and insure that the stern will be adequately braced by the standards along its full length. This prevents the branch from developing its natural tendency to twist about the stand ards when it is straightened.

Fastening means are provided for fastening the branch on the standard in an erect position, thereby overcoming the natural curvature of the branch. Suitable fastening means are illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3. Although the fastening means may comprise lengths of wire, string or other flexible materials, they preferably comprise the fasteners called twistems commonly used by florists and comprising a soft wire core covered with paper.

The fasteners 24 are Wrapper around the stern of the branch 28 and then around each of standards 20, 22 at selected intervals along the length of the branch as required to maintain it in an erect position.

Thus it will be apparent that by the present invention, I have provided an assembly including a stand and an individual branch of an evergreen tree which creates a miniature Christmas tree useful in places where space is limited. The assembly serves a valuable conservation function since it make possible using tree trimmings, as opposed to entire small trees. Also, it is versatile in that it may be used for branches of various sizes and shapes to be stationed flat against a wall and independently spaced away from a supporting surface.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herein shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of the subjoined claim.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

A coniferous tree branch stand comprising a base plate having a vertical perforation therethrough, a pair of elongated standards extending upwardly from the base plate,

the standards being spaced freely from each other from the base plate to their outer ends a lateral distance substantially equal to the diameter of the main stem of a tree branch for threading longitudinally through the branches projecting laterally from the stem, the standards being adapted to receive the stem between them in bracing relation, a pair of legs rigid to the base plate and extending outwardly and downwardly therefrom as integral extensions of the pair of standards, a third leg extending through the perforation in the base plate and swingable toward and away from the other two legs, and a plurality of releasable fastening means adapted to engage the stem of the tree branch and both standards at vertically spaced References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 3/04 Chessman 4747 5/25 Markowski 4747 ALEXANDER WYMAN, Primary Examiner.

JACOB STEINBERG, EARL M. BERGERT, Examiners. 

